The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1887-05-31
Or TALMAeE's sERM0Ns
Behind tho Coanter.

Behind tho Counter. ..
"a certain woman named Lydia, seller Of
%.I,urplc," etc.-ACTs 1874.
"Sccst thou man dillgont in his busi-
o,iess3 he shall stand before kings. ."-PRovERBS
H62: 29.
IuE first passage introduces to you
Lydia, Christian merchantess. Her
business is to deal in purple cloths or1
silks. She is not giggling nonentity,
hut practical woman not ashamed to
work for her living.Y AL the other
women Of Philippi and Thyatira have
been forgotten, but God has made i'm
mortal in our text Lydia, the Christian
salcswoman.
The other text shows you man with
head, and hand, and heart, and foot all
! busy tOiling on up until he gains a
priucely success. 5'ttSeest thou "a man
d;ligents in his business? he shall stand
before kings" In these two passages
there is great g e.,,Ta WI
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR MEN AND i
WOMEN
who will be busy, but no solace for
those who are waiting for good luck to
show them, at the foot Of the RAINBOW,
u casket of buried gold. 1t Is folly for
thing to turn up. It will turn down.
The law of thrift is as inexorable as the
law Of the tides. I would like to fire
the ambition Of young people. 1 have
no sympathy with those who would
&rermre young folks for, life, by whit
ting down their expectations. That
man or woman will be worth nothing
to Church or State who begins life
c0wcd down. The business Of Chris
tianity is not to quench, but to direct
human ambition. Therefore it is that
come out this morning and. utter
words of encouragement to those who
are occupied as .ta
CLERKS IN THE STORES
land shops and banking-houses of the
country, You say, "Why select one
class, and talk to one specially this
arnorning?' For the same reason that
"a surgeon does not open tho door Of n
hospital and throw in bushei OF pre-
3 scriptions, saying. "Come. now, and
get your medicine He first feels the
pulse, watches the symptoms, and then
prescrlbes for that particular case. So
to-day must be specific.
l. In the first place, I counsel clerks
. to remember that for the most part
their
CLERKsnIp is ONLY A SCHOOL
from which they are to be graduated.
1t takes about eight years to get one OF
tho learned professions. It takes about
eight years to get to be merchant.
Some Of you will be clerks all your
Lives, but the vast majority of you are
: only in transient position. After
awhile, some December day, the head
men Of the firm will call you into the
back Office, and they will say to you,
"Now, you have done we'll by us; we
are going to do we'll by you. We in
HVite you to have an interest in our con-
"cen.'' You will bow to that edict
very gracefully.
Either in the story or bank where
you are now, or in some other store or
bank, you will take higher position
'than that which you now occupy. So
feel to-day that am standing before
people who will yet have their hand on
the helm Of the worlds commerce, and
you will tugn it this way or that; now
clerks, but to be bankers, importers,
insurance company directors, shippers,
contractors, superintendents Of rail-
.roads-your voice mighty s'on 'Change"
standing foremost in the great finan-
cial and religious enterprises of the
day. For, though we who are in the
professions may, on the platform, plead
for the philanthropies, after all, the
merchants must come forth with their
millions to sustain the movement,
Therefore. EAg ''fA
DE PATIENT AND DILIGENT
in this transition position. You are now
where you can learn things you can never
learn in any other place. What YOU
consider your disadvantages are your
grand opportunity. You see an afflu-
ent father some day come down on a
prominent street with his son, who has
just graduated from the university,
and establishing him in business, put.
Ting one hundred thousand dollars Of
capital in the store. Well. you are en-
vious. You say, "Oh, il only had q
chance like that young man-if T only
had father to put one hundred thou
sand dollars IN a business for me, then
would have some chance!''
BE NOT ENvIOUs.
You have advantages over that young
'man which he has not over you, AS
we'll might I come down to the docks
: when a vessel is about to sail for Val
paraiso, and say, ssLet me pilot this
: ship out Of the Narrows.': Why, I
would sink crew and cargo before got
out of the harbor, simply because I
know nothing about pilotage. Wealthy
sea captains put their sons before the
mast for the reason that they know
that 1t is the only place where they can
learn to be successful sailors. 1t Is
only under drill that people get to un-
"derstand pilotage and navigation, and
| want you to understand that it takes
no more skill to conduct vessel out of
the harbor and across the sea than to
:: steer commercial establishment clear